Mechanic Stole My Engine

I have a 97 Taurus and I needed a transmission put in. The guy that I work with told me that he could do it so we loaded it up on his trailer and took it to his house. He said that he could get a used transmission for $400 so I gave it to him for the transmission. He told me a couple of days later that he needed some gaskets for the exhaust manifold because it was leaking. I knew that it was leaking already so I gave him the money to buy the gaskets. It took him 2 weeks to fix the car and when we got it back my wife drove it for a couple of weeks and it overheated blowing the heads or the gaskets. Right before the transmission repair, my wife had bought a new crate engine and had it installed in the car. I have looked under the hood and I am sure that the engine in there is not the one that we bought. He stole the new engine. What course of action do I take? I can write out a work order and make him sign it then tell him that he stole my motor and take him to court or what do I do? The dishonesty in the world makes me sick

Doe's he have a doing business lic?
Call the police & insurance, if you got invoice for new engine.
Never pay for a job, that's not done.

The first thing to say is wow, I have never heard of that before. That said, it will help if you have info on the engine that was put in. With luck on your past bill it will have the serial number of the new engine. If it doesnt then check with who put the crate engine in to see if they have that info. You have to be able to prove that this guy was given the car with a different engine.

Just thinking about it, what he might have done was drop the whole K frame and put in an engine and trans already mounted to another one, not knowing your engine was new. Puts you in a bit of a tight spot, if you bring it to his attention you might tip your hand that you might take it to court but on the other hand he might step up and fix it if you talk to him.

The first thing to say is wow, I have never heard of that before. That said, it will help if you have info on the engine that was put in. With luck on your past bill it will have the serial number of the new engine. If it doesnt then check with who put the crate engine in to see if they have that info. You have to be able to prove that this guy was given the car with a different engine.


I will check with the shop that installed the engine. The guy that put in the transmission does work on the side and I didn't get a receipt from him for the work done. I told him that I needed something to show the work and he told me to write out a work order.

Just thinking about it, what he might have done was drop the whole K frame and put in an engine and trans already mounted to another one, not knowing your engine was new. Puts you in a bit of a tight spot, if you bring it to his attention you might tip your hand that you might take it to court but on the other hand he might step up and fix it if you talk to him.

He knew that the engine was new. He just figured that no one would notice. The timing cover is missing, the new water pump is missing, and there is too much grease on the block.

Doe's he have a doing business lic?
Call the police & insurance, if you got invoice for new engine.
Never pay for a job, that's not done.

He doesn't have a business license. He is just a shadetree mechanic. He works at the same place that I do and works on other people's cars that work there. I figured that I could trust him, hell I've known him for years. Something like this didn't even cross my mind. When we went to get the car, it was running fine then it overheated about 2 weeks later.

It took you 2 weeks to fiqure out it wasn't the same engine, did you not look under the hood until it overheated, no checking oil or such after getting it back. I would take it back the same place that installed the crate enginefor verification that not the same engine. I am not doubting that it is not the same engine just that their verifacation will help you with a legal course of action.

It took you 2 weeks to fiqure out it wasn't the same engine, did you not look under the hood until it overheated, no checking oil or such after getting it back.

The car had a crate engine installed which means that all of the components that came off of the old engine were reinstalled. The only thing that was new was the block. I checked the coolant, oil, and transmission fluid when I got it. The block is not easy to see and the top part that you can see has been cleaned. The only way you can tell is by moving components out of the way. Then you can see the wear and grime. The car ran great when we got it back and it's my wife's car so I didn't drive it everyday.

It took you 2 weeks to fiqure out it wasn't the same engine, did you not look under the hood until it overheated, no checking oil or such after getting it back. I would take it back the same place that installed the crate enginefor verification that not the same engine. I am not doubting that it is not the same engine just that their verifacation will help you with a legal course of action.

I think that is probably my only course of action. Thanks